Sydney Sabres
# Sydney Sabres

The Sydney Sabres are an Australian junior ice hockey team based in Sydney playing in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. They represent one of the two junior ice hockey teams from New South Wales currently playing in the AJIHL, which is the most elite level for ice hockey at a national level for ages between 16–20 years old.

## Team history

### AJIHL

The Sydney Lightning were founded 18 September 2012 following the announcement by Ice Hockey Australia of the formation of the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. The team is controlled by the New South Wales Ice Hockey Association. On 14 October 2012 it was announced that Jason Kvisle as coach for the 2012–13 AJIHL season with Jimmy Dufour as his assistant.

The Sydney Lightning played the first ever AJIHL game against the Melbourne Blackhawks at the Medibank Icehouse on 21 October 2012. The Lightning we defeated by the Blackhawks by a score of 5–3.

The first goal ever scored in the AJIHL was by Daniel Pataky of the Sydney Lightning.

The first team in club history: For the 2012–13 AJIHL season

| # | Name | Pos | Date of Birth | Acquired | Birthplace |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | Christian Elaya | F | 19 August 1996 | 2012 | |
| 3 | Charles Frazer | D | 22 August 1995 | 2012 | |
| 8 | Jesse Garcia | F | 9 June 1994 | 2012 | |
| 20 | Rhett Kelly | G | 29 June 1994 | 2012 | Sydney, Australia |
| 17 | Jackson Knott | D | 7 December 1994 | 2012 | |
| 6 | Jake Knott | F | 21 June 1996 | 2012 | Sydney, Australia |
| 14 | Casey Kubara | F | 6 April 1996 | 2012 | Sydney, Australia |
| 19 | Cian O'Reilly | F | 5 June 1995 | 2012 | |
| 5 | Daniel Pataky | D | 24 January 1996 | 2012 | Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia |
| 25 | Harley Quinton-Jones | G | 13 May 1995 | 2012 | |
| 11 | Yucca Reinecke | F | 5 July 1995 | 2012 | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 18 | Hayden Sheard | F | 5 March 1996 | 2012 | |
| 9 | Chris Shephard | F | 24 May 1994 | 2012 | |
| 1 | Marco Tomasello | G | 6 March 1992 | 2012 | Sydney, Australia |
| 4 | Cameron Todd | F | 21 July 1994 | 2012 | Sydney, Australia |
| 15 | Martin Valdivia | D | 21 April 1995 | 2012 | |
| 12 | Axel Winton | D | 21 July 1994 | 2012 | Sydney, Australia |
| 16 | Luke Zvonicek | F | 30 August 1996 | 2012 | |

### AJIHL Expansion

The follow-up season in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League saw a lot of change via expansion and renaming of its existing teams. The Sydney Lightning were renamed the Sydney Sabres in September 2013. The changes were made in response to the National Hockey Leagues concern about the AJIHL using their team names and logos but also recognised the opportunity to create a new history for the teams through creating their own identity. In October 2013 the league expanded to six teams with two teams from Perth, the Sharks and the Pelicans, joining for the start of the 2013–14 season.

## Logo and Uniform

### 2012–2013 Sydney Lightning

In their first year, and the inaugural AJIHL season, the Sydney Lightning wore a uniform that resembled the NHL namesake Tampa Bay Lightning. The jersey design and uniform bore close resemblance to the Tampa Bay Lightning design, with the AJIHL logo used for shoulder crests.

## Season by season results

| Season | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | PTS | Finish | Playoff |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2012–13 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 45 | 41 | 21 | 3rd | Lost semi-final vs. Sydney Maple Leafs, 2–7 |

## Players

### Current roster

For the 2016–17 AJIHL season

| # | Name | Pos | Date of Birth | Acquired |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Jack Ransome | | | 2016 |
| 3 | Austin Matthews | | | 2016 |
| 5 | Hayden Savage | | | 2016 |
| 6 | Kory Sheridan | F | 6 March 1999 | 2015 |
| 7 | Charles Yole | D | 9 February 1997 | 2015 |
| 8 | Aiden Sillato | F | 13 October 1999 | 2015 |
| 9 | Liam Manwarring | F | 11 March 1999 | 2015 |
| 10 | Mohak Issar | F | 29 October 1999 | 2015 |
| 11 | James Barton | | | 2016 |
| 12 | Jayden Whitbread | | | 2016 |
| 13 | Joey Gunner | | | 2016 |
| 15 | Tim Russell | D | 20 January 1997 | 2015 |
| 16 | Branson Moore | D | 20 January 1999 | 2015 |
| 17 | Lachlan Good | | | 2016 |
| 18 | Joshua Kleipas | F | 5 November 1998 | 2015 |
| 19 | Nick Air | F | 13 March 1998 | 2016 |
| 37 | Nathan Moncrieff | | | 2016 |
| 98 | Ellesse Carini | F | 4 December 1998 | 2014 |
| 1 | Dale Tilsted | G | 8 April 1999 | 2015 |

### Captains

* 2013–14 Cameron Todd (C), Hayden Sheard (A), Casey Kubara (A)
* 2014–15 Daniel Pataky (C), Joshua Hansen (A), Chris Shepherd (A)
* 2015–16 Daniel Pataky (C)
* 2016–17
* 2017–18

## Head coaches

The first Head Coach for the Sydney Lightning in the inaugural year for the AJIHL was Jason Kvisle.

* 2012–13 Jason Kvisle
* 2013–14 Jason Kvisle
* 2014–15 Jason Kvisle
* 2015–16 Jason Kvisle
* 2016–17 Jason Kvisle
* 2017–18 Jason Kvisle
